UC Regents Approve Hike in Law-School Tuitions
Dean Rex Perschbacher was quoted in a Daily Journal article on hike in UC law-school tuitions that was approved by UC Regents on Wednesday, March 14, 2007. While the cost of attending UC law schools has doubled at some campuses during the past several years—and is going up again—Perschbacher said in the article that this recent hike will result in students beginning to see a lot more for their money, which was not the case in previous years when fee increases had been used to make up for state funding shortfalls.
"The great irony that we're living in is that student fees have doubled, but we have seen no additional funding for our program," Perschbacher said in the article. "(Next year), a 7 percent increase is needed just to keep up with staff salaries and inflation. But for the rest, we have other priorities: We want to put $100,000 to $200,000 toward financial aid, and we're going to be funding our loan-repayment program." He added that UC Davis also has hired a director for its newly upgraded legal-writing and research class, and the school will put an additional $200,000 to $300,000 toward hiring instructors.
A news release by the UC Regents affirmed that fee increases were necessary to preserve the quality of UC's teaching and research programs. Professional school fees will increase by seven percent for most programs, and an average total of 10 percent at selected law and business schools. Additional provisions will make available a 45-percent return-to-aid for graduate academic students and a 33-percent return-to-aid will be implemented for professional school students to mitigate the impact of the fee increases.
The University is still recovering from major budget cuts earlier this decade. Meanwhile, the costs of operating the institution continue to increase both because of inflation and because of the need to remain competitive with other institutions in hiring and retaining the most talented faculty and staff. According the the news release, the governor is proposing an increased state contribution to the University in his 2007-08 budget, but addressing UC's needs requires an increase in the contribution from students, as well.
UC Board of Regents News Release/March 14, 2007
Daily Journal/March 15, 2007 (reg. required)
"The great irony that we're living in is that student fees have doubled, but we have seen no additional funding for our program," Perschbacher said in the article. "(Next year), a 7 percent increase is needed just to keep up with staff salaries and inflation. But for the rest, we have other priorities: We want to put $100,000 to $200,000 toward financial aid, and we're going to be funding our loan-repayment program." He added that UC Davis also has hired a director for its newly upgraded legal-writing and research class, and the school will put an additional $200,000 to $300,000 toward hiring instructors.
A news release by the UC Regents affirmed that fee increases were necessary to preserve the quality of UC's teaching and research programs. Professional school fees will increase by seven percent for most programs, and an average total of 10 percent at selected law and business schools. Additional provisions will make available a 45-percent return-to-aid for graduate academic students and a 33-percent return-to-aid will be implemented for professional school students to mitigate the impact of the fee increases.
The University is still recovering from major budget cuts earlier this decade. Meanwhile, the costs of operating the institution continue to increase both because of inflation and because of the need to remain competitive with other institutions in hiring and retaining the most talented faculty and staff. According the the news release, the governor is proposing an increased state contribution to the University in his 2007-08 budget, but addressing UC's needs requires an increase in the contribution from students, as well.
UC Board of Regents News Release/March 14, 2007
Daily Journal/March 15, 2007 (reg. required)